Everlasting Pt 1 Bliss
by Calamity Heart
Summary: As the Organization continues to collect hearts for their mysterious goal, new horizons open for new worlds that make themselves known to them. No one said that these horizons would would be good. Just new.
1. Chapter 1

The streets of New Orleans were as busy and bustling as ever. They were so crowded and eventful that nobody noticed the odd activity that occurred deep in a dark alleyway.

"Facilier…" whispered a shadowy voice.

All of a sudden, a large shadow which connected to nothing rose against the wall. A long, skinny arm reached out of the shadow and clutched onto the wall, dragging the arm's owner out.

"It sure took you bobbleheads long enough to free me." the man said.

Three floating masks emerged from the hole, approaching the man.

"You'd best count your blessings, mortal."

"Consider'em counted. Now what do you want from me?"

The masks cocked their heads to the side amusingly.

"Don't play innocent! You wouldn't have let me go if you didn't need me."

"Fair enough, Facilier. The darkness is gathering."

Facilier raised an eyebrow.

"They form in troves and are approaching New Orleans. There is no time to find another medium. We plan to control the shadows through you."

"What are you going to do with shadows when you already have plenty at your disposal?"

"Misunderstood chimp. The shadows we speak of are much more malevolent than the one that we control. They are powerful, bold, Heartless…" the three masks said one at a time.

"Don't talk to me like I'm slow. I know very well what the Heartless are. They've been popping up all over different worlds. That still doesn't answer my question, though."

"Have we ever given you a straight answer when it came to OUR personal business?" the masks questioned, squinting their glowing purple eyes.

"Good point."

"And besides, we may 'need' you, but you still owe us for the talisman. You'll do what we say."

"Or? You'll kill me? You'll send me back to that dark hellhole?"

The masks squinted silently.

"So what's keeping me from leaving you jerks and living my OWN life?"

"I'm glad you asked." one mask said, lunging forward and putting Facilier in its mouth. Inside the mask were the sounds of pained, muffled yells. After a few seconds, the mask spit Facilier out.

"Now unless you want me to swallow next time, you'll do EXACTLY what we say."

Facilier was breathing hard with bugged eyes.

"Alright… You've convinced me. What do you need?"

*two hours later*

On the other side of New Orleans, a dark corridor emerged from the ground. A blonde woman with two thin bangs sticking out of her hair stepped out first.

"Roxas! Hurry it up! I don't have time for you to be dragging your feet!" the woman yelled through the portal.

A short, scowling young man stepped out second.

"And what DO you have time for, Larxene, besides eating, sleeping, and hitting on Luxord?"

Roxas was me with a sharp slap to the face.

"That's your warning. Talk some more shit and see what happens." Larxene said coldly.

"What are we here for again?" Roxas asked, rubbing his cheek.

"Saix said that there's been increased Shadow activity in this new world and as punishment for getting my butt kicked by a Land Armor in Agrabah, he stuck me with you."

'Gee, thanks, Saix.' Roxas thought.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Do your recon!" Larxene ordered, pushing Roxas forward.

"Our mission was to investigate the Shadows." Roxas challenged.

"YOUR mission. I'm not even supposed to be here, so why should I be expected to do anything? Besides, how are you going to investigate anything without doing RECON FIRST?!"

"Can you yell that a little louder?! I don't think the rest of New Orleans heard you!!" Roxas screamed into Larxene's ear. He looked around and for the first time noticed that the streets were empty.

"Nobody's here." Larxene said.

Roxas thought he heard a gasp, and he quickly turned, in time to see someone quickly close their window panes.

"Wrong. People are here. They're just hiding."

"From the Shadows?"

"It's our best guess."

The wind began to rustle loudly as Roxas and Larxene stood back-to-back, ready for combat. Larxene frowned.

"What am I doing? This isn't my mission. I'm getting a soda." Larxene said, walking away from Roxas and down the street.

"Larxene, stop!" Roxas said.

"What do you want now, you little brat?!"

"Behind you!"

Larxene turned around and flinched backwards in time to avoid the claws of a shadowy beast before her.

She tripped and rolled down the slanted incline she was trying to walk up. To keep her from injuring herself, Roxas ran forward and stopped her descent.

"Unhand me!" Larxene screamed as Roxas dragged her to a nearby building wall.

"Stay here." he said before running off.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Larxene growled as Roxas ran off to fight the beast.

"It's a Gigas Shadow." Roxas said to himself, noticing the size of the beast. He raised his hand in the air and a key-shaped blade fell into his hand. The Gigas Shadow leaped at Roxas but he deflected the monster's claw, making it stagger backwards only momentarily.

Roxas took a small diamond-shaped mechanism from his pocket and attached it to the blade's hilt. It glowed brightly, then transformed into a more intricate sword.

"Duel Gear!" Roxas yelled, brandishing his new blade.

The Gigas Shadow moaned in defiance, lunging forward again. Roxas parried the lunge, causing the Shadow to stumble forward.

"Die." Roxas said, bringing his blade down on the Shadow's neck, reducing it to a smoggy cloud.

"You can come out, Larxene." Roxas said.

All was silent.

"Larxene?"

Roxas walked back to where he left his teammate. She was gone, but her lightning knives were sprawled on the ground. Roxas also noticed scratch marks in the wall where Larxene was laying.

"Larxene! Where are you?!" Roxas called, hoping for an answer. He heard a low moaning from nearby.

Thinking it was Larxene, he ran toward it. When he turned the corner, he saw the top half of Larxene sticking out of an alley. Her eyes were closed and a small trail of blood trailed from her lip.

"Larxene!" Roxas called, running toward her. Larxene's eyes fluttered open.

"Roxas, get me out of here." she said, unable to sound intimidating.

Roxas grabbed her arm, but once he did, Larxene was violently pulled deeper into the alley. Roxas almost went with her, but he stood his ground, tugging Larxene's arm against whatever was fighting him.

"Ow! What are you trying to do?! Rip my arm off?!"

"I'm *grunt* trying to save your life!" Roxas said, pulling harder. He looked at what was fighting against him in tug-of-war, but furled his eyebrows when he saw that nothing was there. Larxene's legs were floating in thin air.

Roxas's feet were dragging through the hard dirt as the invisible force pulled Larxene deeper.

Looking again, Roxas noticed that bottoms of Larxene's pant legs had pressure applied to them, but he didn't see anything applying the pressure.

"It's invisible." he said.

"Nice perception, Sherlock! Now pull me!" Larxene yelled.

Slowly, Roxas was able to pull Larxene back, but it wasn't because he was winning. Larxene wasn't coming forward; her pants were being pulled back by the invisible force.

Larxene felt what was happening. She sighed and cursed under her breath.

Suddenly, Larxene came out of her pants and she and Roxas flew backwards. The invisible force also flew back into the dark alley, with Larxene's pants in tow.

As Larxene stood, Roxas noticed that she was wearing yellow and white striped panties.

"Uhh…" he murmured, unable to keep himself from staring.

Larxene gasped and squatted back down again, bringing her knees into her cloak so nothing else showed.

"Tell anyone and I snap your neck." she said icily.

"Alright." Roxas said, still flustered. "I think we have enough information. A few Pureblood Heartless have scared the New Orleans inhabitants, and a Veil Lizard is running around as well. Let's RTC."

"Uh uh! I'm not going back to the castle in my panties! Demyx would never let me live that down! Go get my pants." Larxene ordered.

"What?! Why do you have to be so unproductive?" Roxas complained, dropping his hands to his sides and turning his back to Larxene.

"Come on, Roxas. I lost my buzz knives and my dignity was just literally stripped away from me."

"And?"

"Fine. Go and RTC. I'm not moving from this spot and you can't move me. What's Saix gonna say when he finds out that you left me here on your own will?"

Roxas scowled almost as hard as Larxene.

"Oh, you're coming with me."

"Says who?"

"Says this." Roxas said, conjuring his Keyblade.

"Wait, wait, wait! You don't have to go THAT far!"

"Lights out." Roxas said, raising the flat end of the Keyblade.

"No! No! N-"

_WHAP!_

_xxx_

On the roof of the Castle That Never Was, Xemnas stood, staring unblinkingly at the large golden heart-shaped moon in the sky.

"What do you need, Saix?" he said without turning.

"I don't know, nor do I care for the details, but Roxas returned with an unconscious, pantless Larxene. New Orleans is nothing special. It's just a world with slight Pureblood infestation." Saix said.

"Hmm. No, there's more to this. We should know by now that not everything is what it seems when it comes to these unexplored worlds."

"Roxas also reported a suspected Veil Lizard roaming about."

"Exactly my point." Xemnas said, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"A few scattered Purebloods roaming aimlessly around, and a random Veil Lizard appears? That doesn't seem sketchy to you?" For the first time, Xemnas turned away from Kingdom Hearts and faced Saix.

"I see your point, but like you stated, it could just be random. Most things that we deal with are."

"True. Send Roxas back to New Orleans to scout again, because I have a strong feeling that there is a lot more to that world."

"Who should I send him with, or should I send him alone?"

"Has Larxene shown any improvement?"

"Judging by the way she returned, I would have to say no."

"Hm. Send her with Roxas again. Maybe this time, she'll show more initiative than aggression."

"If I may say, that's a fairly large 'maybe'." Saix said before walking back to the circle elevator from whence he came.

Xemnas turned back to Kingdom Hearts.

"Only you and I know. I should've known that Roxas's broken memories would make it difficult for him to detect it. With one gone, this is our only opportunity to balance the Worlds once again. There must be seven. Always."

Xemnas turned and levitated toward the circle elevator that Saix had just exited from.

xxx

"The Heartless are approaching steadily. I'm prepared to do my part. What about you?" Facilier asked one of the masks floating around him.

"My shadows have failed. All they retrieved were a pair of pants belonging to a pale, fair-skinned young girl. Don't ask."

"That's all we need, MORE white girls in New Orleans. Was she with anyone?"

"A young boy assisted her. His name is Roxas. A surveying shadow heard it from the woman."

"Does it matter?"

"Actually, yes. This boy has the ability to dispel the Heartless. He's a threat.

"Liability at best. There's no chance that this boy can roadblock our plan. Not with as many Heartless as WE'RE about to throw out."

"On the other hand," began another mask. "a shadow that I dispatched came back successful. We have captured an Emblem Heartless."

"Excellent. Begin your so-called 'voodoo Conversion ritual'. If it works, nothing will be able to stop us."

"Unless that kid comes back."

"Oh, don't worry about him. For now. This is just a field test. If it fails, we have nothing to lose, but if we succeed…"

"We'll have EVERYTHING to gain." the center mask said menacingly.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ugh! I can't believe I'm stuck with you AGAIN!" Larxene prattled as she and Roxas stepped through the dark corridor into New Orleans.

"If it makes you feel any better, neither do I." Roxas murmured.

"What was that?" Larxene asked, grabbing Roxas by the collar and lifting him into the air.

"Just telling the truth. You don't seem to have a problem with that, given that you speak your mind all the time."

"How boringly insightful." Larxene scoffed, dropping Roxas. "Go ahead. Scout to your heart's content. I'm telling you, this place is a dump. There's nothing here."

"Yeah, there is. There's a powerful Heartless nearby. We should keep on guard."

As Roxas said this, a loud squawk rang through the air.

"That sounds like a Tailbunker."

Larxene looked into the air and saw a shadowy beast flying through the air, soaring downwards toward them. As is got closer, Roxas noticed that it was all black and had no Emblem.

"No way! That's a Pureblood?" Roxas asked, ducking to avoid the beast's sharp talons. It slammed into the ground hard, raising its head and screeching upwards.

"I think… I think that it's in pain." Roxas said.

"Who cares? A Heartless is a Heartless. Squash it!" Larxene ordered.

Roxas summoned his Keyblade and attached the Duel Gear to it. He ran toward the beast and swung at it, but it leaped away, causing a large shockwave when it hit the ground again. Roxas and Larxene, who were both a fair distance away, were still knocked backwards.

"That thing is stronger than a Dustflier."

"Just make it clean and quick. Wait for an opening, then slice off its head." Larxene said, running a finger across her throat.

Roxas nodded and ran forward again. The flying beast swung its body around, trying to strike Roxas with its wings. He leaped to dodge them, then ran the Keyblade through the creature's neck. It's head fell to the ground with its body frozen in place.

"Shouldn't it have disappeared?"

Roxas backed away as shadowy tendrils shot from the Heartless's decapitated neck and reattached itself to the rest of its body. It roared again and launched a point-blank ball of dark energy at Roxas. He flew backwards and landed hard at Larxene's feet.

"Damn, Roxas. It doesn't take a lot to put you down, does it?" Larxene murmured, throwing him over her shoulder and running toward the dark corridor.

The beast leaped in front of Larxene, who was unable to sidestep past it. She leaped backwards as best as she could, but was encumbered with Roxas over her shoulder.

"Oh, man. I didn't think I was going to die like this." Larxene murmured, beginning to sweat. The beast screeched in her face before rearing its head to strike. Before it had a chance to, a metal object flew through the air and embedded into the beast in the eye.

"Get out of here, you foul thing!" yelled a female voice. Larxene looked first at what was thrown and saw that it was a cooking pot. The handle had plunged itself into the Heartless's eye, causing it to screech in agony.

Larxene then turned to who threw the pot, a young, dark-skinned woman, who was holding another pot.

"Go on! Get!" She screamed at the beast, throwing the other pot she held. It struck the first pot, further sinking it deeper into the pained monster's eye. It squawked in torment and spite, then took off into the air. Once the sound of beating wings had left, the girl turned to Larxene.

"Quick! Come on in!" the girl said.

"Thanks for saving our asses back- Whoa." Larxene said as she entered the building with the girl. It was a large, extravagant restaurant, but it didn't feel that way. The place was crowded with scared people, hiding under the tables. The ones who were standing had very uncomfortable body language.

"My name is Tiana." the girl said.

"Uh… We feel that it's best if you don't know our names." Larxene said.

"Urgh… Larxene, where are we?" Roxas asked awakening. Larxene gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes.

Roxas jumped from Larxene's grip and brushed off his cloak. He then turned to Tiana.

"Hi. I'm Roxas."

Larxene slapped her head.

"I'd say it's nice to meet you, but nothing's really nice in New Orleans right now, ever since the Heartless started attacking." Tiana told them.

"Wait, wait, wait. You trust us? We don't know you that well yet."

"You seemed to be in a little jam with that heartless outside, didn't you. That means that you're an enemy of the Heartless as well. Am I right?"

Larxene and Roxas nodded.

"Any enemy of the Heartless is definitely a friend of mine." Tiana said. "You two look tired. How about I fix you up a nice little meal?"

"Um… Sure?" Larxene said. "As long as it's really quick. We're kind of in the middle of something."

"Of course. I'll be right back." Tiana said, walking to the back of the restaurant.

xxx

Xemnas sulked ominously around the castle, his expression clearly portraying concern and deep thought.

"Why the long face, boss-man?" asked a male voice behind Xemnas.

"Axel… It is none of your concern."

"There's a difference between 'concern' and 'business'. Not that THIS is any of my business, but if YOU'RE concerned, I think that the rest of us should be as well."

Xemnas was silent for a moment.

"Hm. You're right."

"Really?"

"It is none of your BUSINESS, either."

Xemnas continued to walk, leaving Axel staring after him.

"I wonder if I should've told him. This does have to do with HIS protégé."

"What's Roxas have to do with it?" asked Axel's voice.

Xemnas breathed in sharply, then turned back to Axel with a cross expression.

"Since you're so irritatingly persistent, I will tell you what is troubling me."

"Shoot."

"Belle, one of the Princesses of Heart, has gone missing."

Axel looked confused. "And?"

"Kingdom Hearts cannot detect her heart anywhere within the already discovered worlds. We fear the worst."

"So what are we going to do, and what does it have to do with Roxas?"

"Being the Keyblade wielder's Nobody, Roxas may have retained the ability to detect powerful hearts. Kingdom Hearts, in fact, detected the heart first, which was no surprise to me at all. Unfortunately, neither I nor Kingdom Hearts knows to whom that powerful heart belongs. It is in the process of searching for the heart's owner."

"That's why you've been sending Roxas on all of those scout missions. You're trying to find that one person with the powerful heart."

"To replace Belle until she is found, IF she is found. There must be seven, Axel. Always."

"Or?"

Xemnas was silent. Inside, Axel's mind was working.

'The worlds are going to collapse.' he thought.

"You're right." Xemnas said with a smirk.

"What do you mean 'I'm right'? Did you read my mind?" Axel asked.

"I didn't have to. Both of us were just thinking the same thing, no?" Xemnas said, turning and walking, leaving Axel drowned in confusion once again.

xxx

In the sky over a dark part of New Orleans, the shadowy beast that attacked Roxas and Larxene flew lopsidedly through the sky, finally plummeting to the ground in a large grotto, at the feet of Facilier.

"The Shadewing has failed. This is very unproductive." the shadow man said, shaking his head. He squinted as he saw the steel pot encrusted into the beast's eye.

With no remorse, Facilier yanked the pot out of its eye. The creature screeched in terror, but just as quickly fell back to the ground, tired. Its injured eye began to regenerate itself.

Facilier observed the pot. "Tiana. Shoulda known. Can't let her get in the way, now can we? And since she did this to you, you must know where she is." he directed the last comment to the Shadewing.

Facilier took a small talisman from his pocket and placed it on the Shadewing's forehead. A large, water-like picture appeared above the Shadewing, showing Tiana, Roxas, and Larxene battling the beast.

"Hmph! Of course. Where else would a tortoise hide but its shell?" Facilier scoffed, noticing the restaurant in the background.

"I just have to check one more thing. Rise." he said to the Shadewing, which stood up on its feet for the first time since landing. Facilier put the talisman back in his pocket, and in its place, produced a silver monocle. He looked through the monocle into the Shadewing's heart.

The heart was beginning to shrivel up. It was wrapped up and being squeezed by inky black tendril thorns, which were all connected to a small black creature that settled on the bottom of the heart.

"Excellent. Your failure has not disturbed the Parysyte. It still has your heart wrapped up tight. And that's where it's going to stay. If you're well enough, go on back to that little restaurant you just came from. Feel free to tear it to the ground. Leave no survivors."

The Shadewing ducked its head as to say 'Yes.', then took off into the air, back toward where it had come from.

xxx

In the Organization's castle, Xemnas sat on the couch, playing poker with Luxord.

"You're a pretty good gambler, Lord Xemnas." Luxord commented.

"My lord, I need to speak with you." Saix said, walking up to them.

"Oh, come on, Saix. Not right now! I've got a royal flush right here."

"I fold." Xemnas said, standing and following Saix.

"Argh!" Luxord yelled, throwing his cards on the table.

"What's the matter?"

"We dispatched Roxas and Larxene almost an hour ago. Scouting shouldn't take that long. Should we send search-and-rescue?"

"Hmm. No, I trust Roxas. Let us wait just a little longer."

A suspicious look crossed Saix's face for a moment.

"Alright, my lord. I trust your judgment."

Xemnas opened his mouth to speak, but all of a sudden, his voice caught in his throat like a thorn. He felt a ringing sensation in his chest.

"I'll be right back." he wheezed, running toward the door.

"You okay, Boss? Sounds like you're having a heart attack." Demyx joked.

"Oh, get real." Xemnas called as he exited.

'Kingdom Hearts is calling me.' he thought frantically.

Once Xemnas reached the roof via the circle elevator, he looked up and noticed that Kingdom Hearts was pulsating with golden energy.

"What have you discovered?" he asked the giant heart in the sky.

Kingdom Hearts fired a thin bolt of light between Xemnas's eyes. All of a sudden, an image played through his head, a picture of a young dark-skinned woman appeared. Xemnas blinked, and the image was gone.

"Have you shown me what I think you have?" Xemnas asked. "The recipient of the title. But, by her appearance and clothing, she doesn't look that much more than a simple mendicant."

Xemnas looked at Kingdom Hearts as if he expected it to answer.

"But who am I to judge? There's always more to a book than just its cover. I shall inform Roxas to search for this woman."

Xemnas turned and walked back to the circle elevator.

xxx

"Here you go, sugar. Fresh-made gumbo." Tiana said, handing a bowl to Larxene.

"Gumbo? What's this?"

"Child, now I know that you've never been to New Orleans if you don't know what gumbo is. Where are you from anyway?"

Larxene glanced to one side and bit her lip nervously.

"Oh, forget I asked. If you aren't willing to tell me your names, where you're from must be VERY classified." Tiana said with a smile. She handed Roxas a bowl, then walked away.

Roxas was about to take the first bite, but his gumbo began to vibrate. Suddenly, a face began to appear in the gumbo.

"Roxas…" it started.

"Yah!" Roxas yelled, dropping his gumbo on the floor.

"What happened?" Tiana asked frantically.

"Oh, nothing. A big bug flew on my nose and startled me." Roxas said.

"Oh, it's okay. I'll just make you another bowl. It'll be ready in a second."

"What's really up with you?" Larxene asked once Tiana had left.

"A face formed in the bowl."

"Get serious."

"I am serious."

"He is." said the same voice Roxas heard before. He looked at the spilled gumbo and saw the face. Seeing it clearly, Roxas saw that the face belonged to Xemnas.

"Roxas, I have more intel to add to your mission. Are you with Larxene?"

"Yes. And lots of other people, so can you keep your voice down?"

Xemnas was silent for a moment. "I'll get the details from Saix. I just need to tell you who you're supposed to be looking for."

"I'm looking for someone?"

"You are now."

"Who? What does he look like?"

"SHE looks like this."

Xemnas's face dissipated, and Tiana's face appeared.

"This is her." said Xemnas's voice.

"Found her." Roxas said. "We're with her right now."

"Hm, alright. You can go ahead and RTC now."

"But we haven't done anything yet."

"You just did. RTC and I'll tell you the details that I can."

"Alright, then." Roxas finished, confused.

"We have to go." Roxas told Larxene, standing.

"Why?"

"You weren't listening?"

"Too into this gumbo. It's delicious!" she called to Tiana as she walked by. The young lady smiled as she walked by.

"Xemnas told us to RTC. Come on."

Roxas and Larxene began to walk toward the exit, but a familiar screeching stopped them cold.

"Did you hear that?"

"I'm not deaf, shortstack. Of course I heard it." Larxene said, looking around. The screech sounded again, and all of a sudden, the Shadewing that they fought before crashed through the window, screeching bloody murder.

Everyone inside the building screamed, running for the door. The Shadewing alighted right in front of the exit, squinting.

The people slowly walked backwards, frightened out of their minds.

Roxas summoned his Keyblade and jumped at the creature, slicing its throat. The creature opened its mouth the scream, but with a slit throat, It was unable to. However, just as quickly as the cut was made, it healed itself. The Shadewing swung one of its talons at Roxas, but he blocked the blow with his blade not a moment too soon. The recoil sent him sliding backwards.

"Its eye is healed and the pot is gone. There's no way it could've taken that out by itself." Roxas said.

"Who does this thing belong to?" Larxene asked.

"Better question. How do we kill it?" Roxas responded, watching with ire at the beast before him.


	3. Chapter 3

Xemnas sat, looking depressed, in one of the couches.

'Why hasn't he returned yet? Something must be wrong.'

"Is something troubling you, my lord?" asked a deep, monotonous voice. Xemnas glanced up to see Vexen staring down at him with the same fixed expression that he always wore.

"Roxas and Larxene have not returned yet. This concerns me."

"You are worried about the boy?"

"And Larxene. She's pestering, but she is still part of my Organization. I am opted to send a search party after them."

"Can I volunteer?" asked a soft female voice.

Xemnas turned to the couch in front of him and saw Xion sitting there.

"Yeah, that's using the ol' noggin. Send a kid after another kid." Demyx said jokingly, putting his arm on Xion's head. "And a sharp-tongued witch to boot. Nah. That'd be too much for Xion."

"I may be a child, but I don't wear diapers. I'm not helpless. Besides, Roxas is my friend."

"You started group banter without me? My feelings are hurt." Axel said, leaning on the armrest of Xemnas's couch. Xemnas was rubbing his temples.

"So many people… Alright, fine. Xion, Axel, and…"

Xemnas looked around, then noticed Marluxia standing silently in one corner.

"Marluxia. Those three will form the search-and-rescue."

Marluxia did a quick double take, then looked at Xemnas exasperatedly.

"Why me?"

"What have you been doing lately besides standing around and murmuring to yourself?"

"*sigh* Good point. Fine. Let's go. Where are they?"

Xemnas summoned the portal.

"Doesn't matter. Find them and bring them back here. Before my headache worsens."

Marluxia, Axel, and Xion stepped through the dark corridor.

Roxas and Larxene stood in front of the large crowd that was shrinking frightfully toward the back of the restaurant. They guarded against the Shadewing, who was slowly stalking forward.

"How are we going to beat this thing? It won't die." Larxene said.

"Sure it can. We just don't know how to kill it yet." Roxas replied.

"Yeah, that helps a whole lot. Aw, screw this. I'll just keep cutting it."

"What's that going to accomplish?"

"Well what do you want to do? Attack it until we accidentally find his weakness, or die before we're able to work out his weakness?"

"You make my suggestion seem so dire."

"Ugh! Whatever! Do what you want! I'LL be the adult!" Larxene said, balling her fists. In a small flash of lightning, six sharps knives appeared in her hands, one between each finger.

Yelling a battle cry, she leaped at the beast and began to brutally hack at its head. The beast stumbled backwards, trying the strike her with its wings and failing. When it snapped at Larxene, it grabbed at her cloak and ripped it right off of her body.

Once again, Roxas couldn't help staring. Larxene was wearing a striped yellow and white sports bra that suspiciously matched the panties that Roxas caught a peek at yesterday. Larxene was decidedly upset.

"Oh, HELL no!" she screamed, jamming one of her knives into the beast's lips, making it unable to open its mouth. Larxene jumped down to the ground and leaped back at the Shadewing's tail.

"Steal my clothes once, shame on you! Steal them twice, FUCK you!" she screamed as the cleanly severed the Heartless's tail, then jumped up and hacked away at its neck, all the while the monster was screeching and twisting its body around to throw Larxene off of it.

Larxene landed the finishing blow, severing the beast's head. She leaped to the ground and took the knife and ripped cloak from its mouth.

"And that's how you bump off a Heartless." Larxene said, putting as much of her cloak back on as she could. Roxas looked behind Larxene and saw that the Shadewing was beginning to reform itself.

"It's getting back up!" Roxas informed her, summoning his Keyblade again.

From the back of the restaurant, Tiana stared on, but a tiny pain shot in her eyes and she had to blink hard to clear it. When she opened her eyes again, they had diluted dramatically. From Tiana's eyes, she saw what was within the beast, a heart tangled in dark tendrils. When she blinked again, the image was gone.

"Attack its chest!" Tiana yelled. "Something is wrong with its heart!"

"You sure?" Roxas asked.

"No, but it's all we've got right now!"

Roxas nodded and leaped into the air, shoving his Keyblade into the Shadewing's chest. A scream sounded, but it didn't come from the Shadewing. Roxas pulled the blade out, and painfully snarled into the sharp prongs on the blade was a small, inky black creature with buggy yellow eyes.

Roxas was about to smash it into the ground, but Larxene stopped him.

"Don't kill it! We should take it back to the castle so Vexen can study it."

"Good idea. Should I keep it on my Keyblade? I don't think it's going anywhere."

A pained squawk diverted their attention back to the Shadewing, whose shadows were melting off of it, revealing a simple Tailbunker. The flying beast collapsed to the ground, disappearing and leaving its heart behind.

"We're all safe now." Roxas told the rest of the crowd. He then turned to Larxene. "Let's go."

The two ran out of the exit door. As they did, they bumped into three people, sending all of them to the ground.

"Axel?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah. What's up with you two? Why are your clothes a mess and what's that on your Keyblade?" Axel asked.

"RTC first and ask questions later. This place creeps me out." Marluxia said.

"This is discerning." Facilier said, trying to detect the presence of his Shadewing. "Could it have been destroyed? How could they have discovered the Parysyte?"

"The same way they defeated the Shadewing the previous time." said a mask that was floating toward Facilier. "Tiana has a powerful heart. So powerful, in fact, that it may give her inter-heart abilities."

"Inter-what-now?"

"Inter-heart abilities are just what they are: special powers allowing the bearer of these powers to manipulate the hearts of others. Kingdom Hearts is a prime example."

"What do you know of Kingdom Hearts?" Facilier asked.

"We know enough to see that Tiana is a major threat if she's left alone, and so is that pestering kid, Roxas, and his lady-friend. What are you going to do about it, Facilier?"

The shadow man began to laugh.

"Do you know the reason why Tiana is hiding in her dump of a restaurant instead of rising against me?"

"Of course we do. What does HE have to do with anything?"

"He doesn't. I'm talking about the little boy. My philosophy: Why try something new when you know what works? We took something special from Tiana, why wouldn't it be any different if we took something special from Roxas?"

A twisted smile grew on Facilier's face. "We'll have to test her first, but if this works, I'll have the world by this year's Mardi Gras."

"Hr Hrm!" coughed the mask.

"Excuse me. WE'LL have the world." Facilier corrected.

"Roxas, have you noticed anything about the other worlds you have traveled to? Something dissimilar?" Xemnas asked, standing in front of Roxas

"You mean different?" Roxas responded.

"No. Everything in the other worlds are the same, but they are changing as well."

"Well… The winds have stopped in Agrabah. Like, completely stopped. Not even a breeze. And things in Wonderland are becoming more and more twisted and confusing."

"Why do you think these things are happening?"

"Why would you think I would know? Nobody ever tells me anything around here. I'd be a son of a bitch if I knew anything about YOU."

"You raise a fair point. Can you guess why this is occurring?"

"Can a duck fart underwater?"

"This is serious business, Roxas."

"If it's so serious, then why won't you give me a straight answer?"

"Because as the Nobody of the original Keyblade wielder, it is partially your responsibility. I'm trying to see if I can jog your memory."

"Of a place I've never been before?"

"Of the past. This has happened only once before, but it was negated quickly enough for it not to be too catastrophic."

"Would Sora have known about this?"

Xemnas nodded.

"That's a start. I'll see if I can recall anything."

Roxas closed his eyes and thought as hard as he could. After several seconds images began to rattle in his head. One was of Sora holding the Keyblade, looking as if he was about to fight.

Another was of a blonde woman falling suddenly to the ground, appearing to be dead. One more was of Kingdom Hearts with a large crack going through it.

"Aurora!" Roxas called without thinking, quickly snapping out of his memory trance.

"Close. This time, it is not Aurora, but Belle."

"What's happened to Belle?"

"What happened to Belle was not dissimilar to what happened to Aurora those years ago. Aurora was cut off from the present world. Her heart and conscience were propelled into another state of space. With only six of the seven Princesses of Heart, Kingdom Hearts began to break. All of the worlds distorted and changed, until they literally began to fall apart at the seams."

"How did Aurora regain her heart and mind?" Roxas asked.

"The same way she lost it. Sora was able to anchor himself into the state of space that Aurora had traveled to and cut her off from THAT place in the opposite direction."

"Opposite direction of?"

"No one is entirely sure. Some say the space-time continuum. Others say it is the dimension of spirits."

"I need to know."

"Then ask yourself."

"What? What do you mean ask myself?"

"You'll know what I mean when the time comes." Xemnas said, beginning to walk away.

"Wait! You still haven't told me what happened to Belle!" Roxas called.

"That doesn't matter anymore." Xemnas said, not stopping.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?"

Xemnas didn't answer. Roxas was left confused.

"*sigh* The more I learn, the less I know." Roxas said, walking in the other direction.

Roxas sat on one of the couches with his head resting on his arm.

"You're on my couch, shortstack." said Larxene's voice.

"I don't see your name on it." Roxas said tiredly. He flinched as a small bolt of lightning zipped past his head and burned Larxene's name onto the pale sky blue leather.

"You want this on your forehead? Move it out." Larxene said, brandishing her knives between her fingers.

Roxas sighed and stood, walking to the clear glass window and leaning against it.

"Aha. I see you, Roxas." said Demyx amusingly.

"Huh?"

"You got the bait, don'tcha? But I think you may have hooked an anglerfish."

"What does that mean?"

"You're warming up to Larxene, I can tell."

"You can? She still bullies me."

"Not still. Before, she just used to order you around and do nothing else. Now she's actually making an effort to ruin your day. It's a sign that she likes you."

"As if. Larxene doesn't like anybody."

"She used to, as a whole." Demyx said with a sly grin.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Here's the story. Larxene's name back when she was a whole was Arleen. Se was a classy gal. She had a close-knit group of friends. Myde, Lumiara, and Dulor."

Roxas thought for a few seconds.

"Don't hurt yourself, now. That's me, Marluxia, and Luxord."

"Oh."

"She was still a bitch, though. But she was a classy bitch."

"Is that even possible?"

"Beside the point. Arleen was 'smitten' by Dulor and used every opportunity she had to screw with his head. That was her way of showing affection. It's the same thing she's doing to you, kid."

"Really?"

"Really. Watch yourself. If you are somehow able to keep Larxene liking you, it'll resolve itself strangely. Trust me. But if you don't trust me, ask Luxord. Boy, will he have a story to tell you." Demyx laughed as he walked away.

For a moment, Roxas couldn't decide if he wanted to stare confusedly at Demyx or Larxene.


	4. Brief Pause

Putting a brief pause on the story to do a sequel to an old one, by popular demand. If you like the story so far, put it on your Story and/or Author Alert to know when I'm starting it again. Later.


End file.
